THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN: THE IMPRINT OF GOD ON MAN AND HIS RELATIONSHIPS. Aaron S. Copeland

Transcription

1 THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN: THE IMPRINT OF GOD ON MAN AND HIS RELATIONSHIPS Aaron S. Copeland May 11, 2013

2 CONTENTS Introduction... 1 Biblical Usage of the Image and Likeness... 1 What the Biblical Terms are... 1 To Whom the Biblical Terms Reference... 3 Historical and Contemporary Views of the Image... 5 Substantive View... 5 Relational View... 6 Functional View... 7 Implications of the Image on Relationships... 8 The Imago Dei Relating to God... 8 The Imago Dei Relating to Others... 9 Conclusion... 9 Bibliography ii

3 Introduction The biblical concept of man being created in the image of God strikes at the very core of humanistic thinking. Many Christians struggle to understand the concept of the imago Dei while being deceived by varying degrees of personal and relational identities deriving from the humanist culture around them. Contemporary believers are in an epidemic state of identity crisis. The more believers are able to understand and realize the cause and effect relationship between the imprint of God in man and man s relationships, the more they will seek to cherish their created image and participate in God s mission to direct glory to His name. This paper will discuss the biblical usage of the image of God in man, present a summary and history of various views defining the image of God from the early church until contemporary times, bring forward a proper definition of the image through evaluation of the views, and state the implications concerning a proper view of the image of God upon man and his relationships. Biblical Usage of the Image and Likeness From the very beginning of human existence, God created man in the image of God. Regarding the creation of man and woman on the sixth day, Moses records the following: Then God said, Let Us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 1 These verses show that there is some sort of correspondence between God and man, but it does not emphasize exactly what this image is. A good start in defining the imago Dei is to understand the terms used in the Scriptures and to whom the imago is referring. What the Biblical Terms are In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for image, tselem, is used in connection with God s creation of man four times in Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6. 2 The corresponding Greek word in the New Testament, eikon, is used in 1 Corinthians 11:7. 3 Both Hebrew and Greek words mean a likeness or representation. 4 In most other Hebrew uses of the term, tselem is used as an idol created by man to represent a deity. 5 In these cases, images created by man were forbidden (Exodus 20:4); while only the image created by God was to be valued. At creation, only man was 1 Gen. 1:26-27 (KJV). 2 R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, electronic ed. (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1996), Ibid., Harris, Archer, and Waltke. 5 Ibid. 1

4 exalted above the entirety of this created world as being in the image of God; yet this image should not be exalted as God. Demuth is the Hebrew word for likeness, and is associated with the word image in Genesis 1:26 and 5:1. 6 This word is similarly used in James 3:9 with the Greek word, homoiosis, in reference to making something similar or like. 7 Having defined both terms adequately, the meaning of the image and likeness of God in created man still seems very vague. When reading Genesis 1:26-27, a logical question comes to mind regarding what the relationship is between image and likeness. Victor Hamilton brings forward five views regarding the relationship between these two words. 8 The first view, held by Roman Catholicism, is that tselem ( image ) refers to man s natural image (which includes the intellect and will) which survived the Fall, and demuth ( likeness ) refers to man s supernatural moral image which was destroyed by the Fall. 9 This view provides a clear distinction between tselem and demuth, and because the intellectual powers of man were left intact in the tselem, the will to choose good can curb the desires of the flesh and merit eternal life. 10 While this view does have some historical precedence that will be presented later in this paper, it is in contradiction with biblical claims that all unregenerate men s works are corrupt, 11 and man s ultimate righteousness is independent of his ability to do good. 12 A second view does not keep the two terms distinct from each other, but it emphasizes tselem (image) and views demuth (likeness) as limiting the degree of the tselem in order to express that the created copy is not in the complete fullness as God. 13 In this sense, they both proclaim the relationship between God and man by addressing the questions of what and how much with respect to the imago Dei. In other words, while they both express man as having similar qualities of God, the additional term, likeness (demuth), is used to limit man s image (tselem) as only like God and not as God. This would prohibit the image from being worshipped as allowed by the pantheistic philosophies of the Ancient Near East whose gods were purely immanent in the cosmos as well as in their man-made idols. A third view, in opposite manner of the second view, emphasizes demuth while tselem limits the similarity of man s likeness of God to a corporeal appearance. 14 This view is thought to be a Mosaic polemic against contemporary traditions of Akkadian origin which held that 6 Victor P. Hamilton, "437," In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. and Bruce K. Waltke, electronic ed. (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, vol. 5, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-), Ibid., Hamilton. 9 Ibid., Hamilton. 10 Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, vol. 2, Integrative Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), Rom. 3:9-20 (KJV). 12 Rom. 4:5-6 (KJV). 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 2

5 Marduk created man out of the divine blood of the defeated Tiamat. 15 Demuth is very similar to the Hebrew word for blood, dam, and so in Genesis, Moses is proclaiming that man s corporeal image (tselem) is due to his likeness (demuth) of God as opposed to being due to a creation from the divine blood (dam) coursing his veins. As in the second view, tselem and demuth are not distinct, but while relational with each other, they are dissimilar to a degree in their meaning. A fourth view maintains that demuth amplifies the meaning of tselem. Man is not just an image (tselem) of God, but he is a likeness-image of God. 16 In other words, man is the adequate, visible, bodily representative of an invisible, bodiless God. While this view is the opposite of the second view, it uses tselem and demuth in similar fashion as the second view in answering the questions of what and how much with respect to the imago Dei. Lastly, a fifth view maintains no distinction between the two words 17 ; so by having the same meaning, nothing is lost when demuth is not used in Genesis 1: Two reasons are given for this view. First, the LXX does not translate demuth (likeness) in Genesis 5:1 with the Greek word, homoiosis, as is used above in James 3:9, as discussed previously. Instead the Greek word, eikon, is used which has already been shown to be the Greek equivalent for tselem (image) in 1 Corinthians 11:7. This denotes interchangeability between image and likeness. Second, the usage of the two words may form a hendiadys 19 which literally means one by means of two 20 where a single idea is expressed by two nouns. The view of not having distinctions between tselem and demuth allows for man to be viewed as a whole of body and spirit with respect to being created in God s image. This view is preferred as it does not break man up into the separate entities of body and spirit, as the first view does, in a passage that is dealing with the creation of the whole of a human. 21 This is not a monistic view of human nature but rather an understanding that before the Fall, the body did not oppose the spirit. To be fully human meant that the body and soul, before the Fall, were in harmony as the imago Dei in order to fulfill human destiny. 22 To Whom the Biblical Terms Reference While still working toward a biblical understanding of what the image of God is by establishing that image and likeness are interchangeable terms, one can logically proceed to unveil a bit more information by answering to whom these terms apply. These terms will be shown to apply equally to men and women across the span of time starting before the Fall and including the unregenerate and regenerate alike after the Fall. The creation account in Genesis 1:27 is very clear that humans, consisting of male and 15 John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), Ibid., Hamilton. 17 John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 1997). 18 Ibid., Hamilton. 19 James Stambaugh, The Bible and Science: Two Epistemic Necessities, Journal of Christian Apologetics 1, 1 (Summer 1997): Frederic Clarke Putnam, Hebrew Bible Insert: A Student s Guide to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew (Quakertown, PA: Stylus Publishing, 2002), Ibid., Stambaugh, Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2 nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998),

6 female, were created in the image of God. In this regard, men and women are created equally as image bearers of God and are viewed equally by God. While men and women were created equal in their being as encompassing the fullness of humanity, they have different roles, 23 just as the persons of the Godhead have different roles 24 yet share equally in being fully God. 25 Before the Fall, and as fully human, Adam and Eve enjoyed the fullness of the imago Dei while living out their human destiny that glorified God. After the Fall, the imago Dei was not destroyed but became impaired making humans abnormal, or no longer fully human, with respect to their original created state. 26 If there was a view that fallen, degenerate man had lost the imago Dei, it would most likely be expected to come from the reformed doctrine of total depravity, since this view regards the image of God in the most extreme fashion; yet in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin stated, Wherefore we grant that the image of God was not effaced and destroyed by him, it was, however, so corrupted, that anything which remains is fearful deformity; and, therefore, our deliverance begins with the second Adam, because he restores us to true and substantial integrity. 27 Fallen and unregenerate man has made his imago Dei as like the image of corruptible man and the animals 28 ; where in extreme corruption, God even calls men brute beasts. 29 In this unregenerate state, man s imago Dei rebelliously blasphemes the creator God and is incapable of living out human destiny which is meant to glorify the Creator. Once a person becomes a new creation, his imago Dei is renewed and brought back into unity with God as the image of Christ. 30 Even though the regenerate s flesh is in opposition to his new spirit, so that he is still not the fully intended human of original design, some differences occur in contrast to the unregenerate imago Dei. Once a person s imago is renewed, his affections are no longer dominated by sin, and he is freed to have God as the center of his affections. This allows him to store up treasure in heaven and to truly love others. 31 His will is able to be dedicated to the Lord s service, since it is freed from bondage. 32 His ethics are held to a higher standard in striving to be Christ-like. 33 He is able to have the contentment in life that comes through obedience in loving God and loving others. 34 By the renewing of his imago Dei, he is able to achieve, though not perfectly, the human destiny of bringing glory to God. Christians look forward to the perfection of their imago Dei by receiving resurrected bodies, which will no longer be in conflict with the spirit, in order to bring perfect praise and worship to 23 1 Cor. 11:3-16; Ephesians 5:21-24; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:11-15; Titus 2:2-5; 1 Pet. 3:1-7 (KJV). 24 Matt. 26:36-39; Phil. 2:5-8; Gal. 4:4-5; John 6:37-38; 14:26; 16:8; Rom. 1:19-20 (KJV). 25 The Father is shown as God in John 6:27; 1 Pet. 1:2. The Son is shown as God in John 1:1; Rom. 9:5; 1 John 5:20. The Holy Spirit is shown as God in Heb. 9:14; 1 Cor. 2:10; Ps. 139:7 (KJV). 26 Ibid., Erickson, Ibid., Calvin. 28 Rom. 1:22-23 (KJV). 29 Matt. 24:38; 2 Pet. 2:12 (KJV). 30 Ibid., Lewis and Demarest, Ibid. 32 Ibid John 1:5-10 (KJV). 34 Ibid., Lewis and Demarest. 4

7 God forever. This exploration has led to the realization that the imago Dei refers to all of mankind from Adam and Eve onward from the moment they are created. Further study into how the imago Dei refers to people with respect to the views of traducianism and creationism is suggested but lies outside the scope of this paper. Historical and Contemporary Views of the Image The next step in the investigative process is to produce a definition of the imago Dei. In this regard, there are three ways in which the imago Dei can be viewed, but many variations exist in each view. The goal of this paper is to summarize the general position and development of each view and formulate which view best fits the biblical usage. Substantive View The substantive view maintains that the imago Dei exists formally as a God-like attribute within the composition of the human. 35 This has been the most widely held view since the beginning of the church. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-c.165) wrote that God made the human race with the power of thought and of choosing the truth and doing right. 36 This means that Justin viewed the imago Dei as consisting of reason, will, and the ability to do what was morally right. Irenaeus (A.D. 130-c.202) saw a distinction between the image and the likeness of God. He defined the image as the endowments of reason and will that were intact after the Fall. He defined likeness as the life of the spirit that was lost after the Fall, but could become regenerated by grace. 37 Clement of Alexandria (A.D. c.150-c.215) had a similar view as Irenaeus that maintained the same definition of image, but stated the likeness was a moral excellence that could increase or decrease. 38 As stated earlier, Roman Catholic tradition has accepted a similar view to these, but greatly enhanced the capability of the image as being able to do enough good to merit eternal life. While viewing the human holistically in terms of body and soul, Augustine (A.D ) gave higher regard to the rational soul. 39 Through exegesis, Martin Luther (A.D ) realized that image and likeness were a hendiadys, or an instance in parallelism, which led to a unitary view of the imago Dei. 40 In this case, all areas of the image of God became corrupted after the Fall leaving behind only a remnant of the imago Dei. John Calvin developed this further by claiming that since a remnant of the imago Dei remained, a person s knowledge of himself is related to his knowledge of God. 41 In this manner, man can come to know God by knowing himself, and he can come to know himself by 35 Ibid., Erickson, Justine Martyr, Apology, 1.28, ANF, 1: Ibid., Lewis and Demarest, Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, or Miscellanies, 2.19, ANF 2: Ibid., Lewis and Demarest, Ibid., Erickson, Ibid. 5

8 measuring up to God s holiness. Because of this, Calvin placed great emphasis on man s intellect, or ability to reason as the imago Dei. This view may be a bit too narrow as a person with less intellect could be deemed as having a lesser degree of the imago Dei. In a wider sense, the imago Dei could be viewed as consisting of some similar, yet limited, attributes of God within man giving him correspondence with God. These endowments could include creativity, language, reason, morality, the ability to will, the possession of a spirit, personhood, and many others. 42 While many different positions have been held throughout church history, the various positions of the substantive view share in common that humans literally consist of the image of God. This precludes the need to define the imago Dei as existing in relational or functional roles only. Those roles are an effect caused by the human essence as the image of God. Because of this, the substantive view seems to be the best position with regards to the relational and functional views of the imago Dei, which will be addressed in the following two sections. While the Bible is not explicitly clear as to what the image of God is, the substantive view seems to align better with the Scriptural view that man was created in the image of God. The Scriptures clearly show that man s relationship with God and his ability to function within God s plan cannot happen until his constitution, or his image, becomes a new creation. This view also upholds a literal view of the Genesis account in that man was originally in a pure, rational, and moral state from the very beginning. Relational View Since the imago Dei is intertwined with the creation account in Genesis, care must be taken to uphold the revealed supernatural creation rather than a creation by natural means that opposes the Scriptures. Because scientific views today deny the miraculous, such as the Genesis creation account, existential philosophers and neo-orthodox theologians find the substantive view to be in glaring contradiction with current scientific thought. C. F. H. Henry states that in order to harmonize the Bible with science, existentialists relegated Adam to the status of myth in order to show that his fall from perfection is a type of all people. In this sense, the imago Dei is viewed as a relation that also allows for an evolutionary model of beginnings. 43 The relational view is new on the scene having only been around for one hundred years. Emil Brunner ( ) sees the image as being present during the act of response when God says, Thou art mine and the person responds, Yes, I am thine. 44 This view of the image also holds for acts of response between people as well. In this sense, a human cannot exist by themselves but only though relationships. For Karl Barth ( ) the image of God resides in the experience of I-Thou confrontation. 45 This confrontation was experienced through self-encounter among the 42 Ibid., Stambaugh, C. F. H. Henry, Image of God, In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), Emil Brunner, Man in Revolt: A Christian Anthropology (Cambridge, England: Lutterworth Press, 1957), Karl Barth, The Covenant as the Internal Basis of Creation, In Church Dogmatics, vol. III/1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010),

9 persons of the Godhead, and this I-Thou relationship was created in God s image when He made male and female to confront each other. The I-Thou confrontation between people should be based on Jesus perfect example displaying the image of God by being for people in His I- Thou confrontation with them. 46 Being in this relationship with others brings us into this relational image of God. While this view is commended for placing emphasis on proper relationships with God and others, it is better seen that these relationships are the outflowing of a substantive imago Dei. The relational view is not based solely upon the Scriptures but is primarily based upon existential philosophy and naturalism. Functional View The functional view of the imago Dei finds its existence in what humans do. It is the human function itself that is created in the image of God. This view has been around since at least the times of the Ancient Near East where their ontology was functional and was a weaker image of mythological gods whose identities were also purely functional. 47 Walton formulates the following regarding ancient Assyrian culture: If ontology were defined in relation to one s function and actions, and if self were defined as largely exterior, then personal attributes (whether divine or human) could only be discerned at the level of one s actions that is, they could not easily be seen as abstractions. This is why many idols possessed human characteristics. In fact, the idols became distorted images of man, and in worshipping them, man became like them. 48 With a functional view of the imago Dei, one needs to be careful from which direction the image is being projected, whether it s from God to man or from man to a god. Today, the functional view has its roots in the philosophy of pragmatism. 49 The main function of the imago Dei that is focused on in this view is found in Genesis 1:26, where God creates man in His image and then specifies man s function to have dominion over the creation. In this respect, Man s function of having dominion over creation is the image of God by way of God s function of sovereignty. This view has found wide acceptance among those reformed theologians who view Genesis 1:26-28 as a cultural mandate similar to Jesus Great Commission. 50 This reformed cultural mandate has also pushed for the theonomic movement called Christian reconstructionism, where having dominion includes political involvement and only allows for certain types of government rule. In the Scripture used above, however, man is already created in God s image before he receives the command to subdue the creation. This being the case, subduing the creation is a consequence of a substantive imago Dei and not the imago Dei itself Ibid. 47 Ibid., Walton, Psalm 115 (KJV). 49 Ibid., Erickson, Ibid. 51 Ibid.,

10 Implications of the Image on Relationships In the previous section, a wider stance on the substantive view of the image of God was preferred. Because this view recognizes the image of God as the very nature of a human, Christians bear responsibility to protect the integrity of this image in their relationship to God and others. Christ is the example and should be recognized as the second Adam by whose submission to the Holy Spirit, perfectly bore the image of God while doing the will of the Father. The Imago Dei Relating to God The image of God in man expresses a theistic God. In one sense, the Scriptures plainly teach in John 4:24 that God is Spirit; therefore, the image of God must be man s spirit. In another sense, because the wider substantive view of the imago Dei is appropriate, one can readily see that God can perform all of the functions that our human bodies can. 52 This is exemplified in anthropomorphisms of God which show God as having human body-like functions. 53 These anthropomorphisms also show a God who concerns Himself with man and His creation. A theistic God has the capability and the will to reveal himself to man, and because all men are created in the image of God, they possess rationality and morality that allow for finite man to receive revelation from an infinite God. 54 God has revealed himself to man in His general revelation of nature 55 and in His special revelation through the Scriptures. 56 Through this revelation, man can either accept God or reject God. This is readily seen in Matthew 22:15-22, when the Pharisees tried to ensnare Jesus by asking if taxes should be paid to Caesar. Jesus replied that since Caesar s image was on the coin, it belonged to Caesar. Jesus then goes on to say that that they should render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar s; and unto God the things that are God s. Jesus was comparing the coin that possessed Caesar s image with the Pharisees who possessed God s image. Because they possessed God s image, they were to give themselves to God. All of the endowments that make man human can either be given to God to glorify His name, or it can be used in rebellion of God in order to exalt man s image of God up above the almighty God Himself. In order for man to accept God, he must simply give himself to God by accepting the gospel, and confessing the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by one s regeneration of the Holy Spirit can the image of God be used to glorify God. It is because of this that John Piper proclaims that Mission exists because worship doesn t Lewis Sperry Chafer, vol. 1, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), Deut. 33:27; John 10:29; Isa. 58:14; 59:1;66:1; 2 Chron. 16:9; Ex. 33:11, 20; 2 Sam. 22:9, 16 (KJV). 54 Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume One: Introduction, Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2002), Rom. 1:19-20 (KJV) Tim. 3:16-17 (KJV). 57 John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1993), 11. 8

11 The Imago Dei Relating to Others By loving God first, a regenerated human will be capable of loving all other humans, since they also contain the image of God in them. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus said the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself. Because they also retain the image of God, they should be highly valued, so that the intent is to fulfill the Great Commission, by way of the Great Commandment, of bringing glory to God from all the created images of God. This recalls the command of God that the Israelites wear tassels on the fringes of their garments, so when they would see each other and themselves, they would remember who their God is and what He wants from them. 58 Likewise, Christians need to recognize the image of God in themselves and others, so they can remember who their God is and what He wants from them. Conclusion In trying to develop a better understanding of the imago Dei, the main terms of image and likeness were found to be parallel, interchangeable words that apply equally to all humans from Adam onward. A wider substantive view of the imago Dei was shown to have the most biblical support in considering the whole of the human, including both body and soul, as the image of God. How the imago Dei is defined has great impact on how all of man s relationships are understood with respect to God, others, and the rest of creation, affecting every single aspect in how people are to do life. Defining the imago Dei defines the identity of man. As Christians, we need to cherish the renewed image of God that we bear by protecting its integrity in order to direct all glory to God alone. 58 Num. 15:37-41 (KJV). 9

12 Bibliography Barth, Karl. The Covenant as the Internal Basis of Creation, In Church Dogmatics, vol. III/1. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Brunner, Emil. Man in Revolt: A Christian Anthropology. Cambridge, England: Lutterworth Press, Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, Clement of Alexandria. "The Stromata, or Miscellanies" In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume II: Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire), ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2 nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Geisler, Norman L. Systematic Theology, Volume One: Introduction, Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, Hamilton, Victor P. "437," In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. and Bruce K. Waltke, electronic ed. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, Harris, R. Laird, Gleason Jr., Archer L., and Waltke, Bruce K. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. electronic ed. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, Henry, C. F. H. Image of God, In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Kittel, Gerhard, Bromily, Geoffrey W., and Friedrich, Gerhard. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament vol. 5, electronic ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Lewis, Gordon R., and Demarest, Bruce. Integrative Theology vol. 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene Albert. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, vol.1. electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. New York, NY: United Bible Societies, Martyr, Justin. "The First Apology of Justin" In The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I: The Apostolic Fathers With Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company,

13 Piper, John. Let the Nations be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Putnam, Frederic Clark. Hebrew Bible Insert: A Student s Guide to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew. Quakertown, PA: Stylus Publishing, Stambaugh, James. "The Bible and Science: Two Epistemic Necessities," Journal of Christian Apologetics 1, no. 1 (Summer 1997): Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic,